Eric Puchner: Model Home

I would like to thank the Stanford Creative Writing Program and the National Endowment for the Arts for their generous support in helping me write this book. I am deeply grateful to Andrew Altschul, Scott Hutchins, Dorian Karchmar, Greg Martin, Samantha Martin, and Tom McNeely for the extraordinary time and effort they put into this book and for their invaluable insights and suggestions. I am indebted to Dr. Gordon Noel for his medical expertise and to Alison Florance, Hunter Johnson, Margaret W. Noel, and Bruce Snider for their advice on professions not my own. I am also indebted to the following authors and books: Barbara Ravage, Burn Unit: Saving Lives After the Flames; Andrew M. Munster, MD, Severe Burns: A Family Guide to Medical and Emotional Recovery; Dennis J. Stouffer, Journeys through Hell: Stories of Burn Survivors’ Reconstruction of Self and Identity; John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton, Toxic Sludge Is Good for You: Lies, Damn Lies and the Public Relations Industry. My wife, Katharine Noel, helped me more than I can possibly express — for her patience, encouragement, and abundant wisdom, I am profoundly grateful.

Eric Puchner is an assistant professor of literature at Claremont McKenna College. He has received a Pushcart Prize and a National Endowment for the Arts grant. His short story collection, Music Through the Floor, was a finalist for the New York Public Library’s Young Lions Award. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, novelist Katharine Noel, and their daughter.